


Of course they knew

by Rosetylars



Category: Cricket RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Relationship Reveal, Secret Relationship, There's a what are we conversation in there too just for fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25049761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosetylars/pseuds/Rosetylars
Summary: Jimmy and Ali finally decide it's time to tell their best friends about their relationship.
Relationships: Jimmy Anderson/Alastair Cook, Jos Buttler/Joe Root
Comments: 25
Kudos: 16





	Of course they knew

Alastair considered himself a very patient man. He was patient when he batted, he had to be patient as he sat through countless meetings and discussions that went along with the captaincy, and he was patient when his friends needed him to lend an ear. 

But if Jimmy bloody Anderson made him wait any longer to be honest about their relationship with their best friends, he thought he was going to explode. 

Ali and Jimmy hadn’t gotten off to the best of starts when they were first introduced, all those years ago. Jimmy seemed standoffish, and Alastair took that as a sign Jimmy didn’t want to be friends. But over the years, thanks to countless tours together around the globe, Ali and Jimmy formed quite the friendship. 

Until one fateful day, when they were in their mid-twenties, alone on the couch in a hotel room in India. The very night that Ali had gotten tipsy from two beers, and accidentally called Jimmy sexy when the older man stretched, arms above his head, and his top had ridden up to expose some delicate hipbones and his lean lower abdomen. 

“What did you just call me?” Jimmy asked, a smirk appearing on those perfect lips. 

Ali forced himself to look away, blushing furiously. “Nothing! I sneezed,” he made up, cringing at himself.

Jimmy wouldn’t take that as an answer, though, putting an arm around Ali’s shoulders. Ali melted into his touch automatically, the scent of Jimmy’s familiar cologne calming Ali’s nervous system. 

“Your sneeze seemed to think I’m sexy,” Jimmy chuckled. 

Alastair thought his cheeks were genuinely on fire. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. 

“Ali, for what it’s worth, I think you’re sexy, too,” Jimmy murmured.

Ali met his gaze, eyes widening. He wanted to kiss Jimmy, so desperately. He had realised he felt for Jimmy as more than a friend a long time ago, but he never intended to act on it. Until now. His eyes darted down to Jimmy’s lips, so close to his own. They were sitting practically shoulder to shoulder, only a breath separating them.

“Ali,” Jimmy murmured. “Tell me if I’ve gotten this horribly wrong,” he warned, leaning in, closing the gap between them. 

Kissing Jimmy for the first time felt like an absolute dream. Ali lifted a hand to grip the back of Jimmy’s head, feeling the short hairs at the nape of the older man’s neck under his palm. The kiss was chaste, both of them trying to avoid overstepping. 

When they separated, Ali could feel his own flush, and Jimmy’s eyes were dark. 

“Was that-?”

“Of course it was okay, you big idiot,” Ali replied, shaking his head with disbelief. 

***  
That had been years ago. For a little while after that, the pair kissed a whole lot, whenever they were alone on tour. They never talked about it. They were friends, the best of friends, who just so happened to enjoy kissing each other every now and then. 

Until the day that Jimmy pushed Ali back onto a bed in the hotel room they happened to be sharing, and kissed him more passionately than he ever had before. 

Alastair, ever responsible, had to muster every fragment of his willpower to push a hand against Jimmy’s sternum. It was a difficult proposition when every nerve ending in his body was on fire with Jimmy so close, in such an intimate position, practically on top of Ali, a thigh pressed between Ali’s legs.

“Jim,” Ali choked out.

Jimmy stopped immediately, pressing himself up to hover above Ali in a kind of push up position, giving him space. Jimmy’s pupils were dilated with arousal, but his forehead told a different story, wrinkled with concern. 

“Sorry, I… is this too much for you? I should have asked, I’m so sorry, Ali-“

Ali melted at the worry in his voice, shifting his hand from Jimmy’s chest to the nape of his neck, comfortingly. “No, definitely not too much,” Ali clarified. At Jimmy’s confused look, he continued. “I just… I think we should talk about this,” he exhaled. 

Jimmy sighed, but nodded, the tension seeping out of his shoulders. He shifted sideways so that he could sit on the bed, cross legged, and Ali clambered to sit up, mirroring his position. Ali tried not to think about how cute Jimmy looked, trying and failing to fold his long legs in front of himself neatly. 

“Okay, let’s talk,” Jimmy agreed. It was big, coming from him - he wasn’t exactly the kind of man who sat down to have deep and meaningful chats over a cup of tea.

Ali nodded, his heart racing now more than it had been with Jimmy on top of him. He could feel a slight shake in his hands, so he clasped them in his lap, hoping Jimmy wouldn’t notice.

Of course Jimmy noticed.

“We… Jim, what are we?” Ali asked, immediately regretting it, wishing he could stuff the words straight back into his mouth.

But it was too late. Jimmy looked away, and his face fell. 

Jimmy hesitated for a while. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, scratching the stubble on his jaw.

Alastair tried not to think about the feeling of it rubbing coarsely against his jaw just moments ago.

“We can’t keep going the way we are without talking about it, James,” Ali said, voice strained. 

Jimmy sighed, meeting Ali’s eyes. “What do you want it to be?”

Ali didn’t want to have to spell it out for him. “I could ask you the same thing,” he returned.

Jimmy rubbed his eyes. “Alastair, you know I’m no good with this sort of thing,” he groaned.

Ali pushed on. “We cannot keep ignoring this. We clearly have something. Friends don’t just kiss-“ 

Jimmy opened his mouth to protest, so Ali shook his head.

“Do you kiss Broady? Do I kiss Joe? No,” Ali pointed out. 

“Jos kisses Joe,” Jimmy interjected.

Ali levelled him with a withering look. “If you’re for real about this, tell me. We both deserve to know what we’re doing.”

Jimmy dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. “I don’t want to fuck this up,” he murmured.

Ali sighed, putting a hand on Jimmy’s knee. “Right now, there isn’t a ‘this’ to fuck up,” he pointed out. “Unless… you want there to be?”

Jimmy met his eyes. “Is that what you want?” He asked gently.

“Yes,” Ali replied, honest. “I want to be something to you, Jimmy,” he whispered.

Jimmy actually frowned, at that. “Ali, you’ve always been something to me. More than something. You’re my best friend, and I…” he hesitated, clearly rethinking what he had been about to reveal. “Ali, I have feelings for you. But you know that already,” he added gently.

Ali felt like his head was spinning. “No, I didn’t know that part,” he replied, shocked. A slow grin spread across his face. “I have feelings for you, too.”

“Really?” Jimmy asked, his shock evident on his face.

Ali could have rolled his eyes, but he was grinning way too hard. “Come here, you big idiot,” he requested, gripping either side of Jimmy’s stubbly jaw and crashing their mouths back together, resuming where they had left off. 

Except, this time, there was no hesitation. 

***  
Now, though, Ali sat on the hotel sofa. Jimmy was in the shower, getting ready for their dinner with Joe and Jos. Ali half wanted to head into the bathroom and join him, but he was beyond nervous. He felt like the timing was right - they needed to let their best friends in on the knowledge of their relationship.

When Jimmy emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, towel slung dangerously low on his hips, Ali swallowed thickly.

“Can we talk about something?” Ali asked, before he could chicken out.

Jimmy’s eyes widened just a fraction. “The tone of your voice tells me I should put some underwear on before agreeing,” he deadpanned.

Ali laughed despite himself - Jimmy always knew how to make him smile. “Okay, fine.”

Alastair pretended to flick through his phone, half watching Jimmy dress through his peripheral vision. He was only human.

When Jimmy was ready, he sat beside Ali on the couch. “Okay, so let’s talk.”

Ali took a deep breath. “How would you feel about telling Joe and Jos, tonight?”

“Telling them about… us?”

Ali nodded.

Jimmy exhaled. “It’s a big deal. That makes it so much more real,” he pointed out.

Alastair tried not to feel a tiny sting of pain, at that. “It is real, though,” he replied, trying to keep his voice level. “Jim, we’ve been together for years. It’s not just some casual fling for five minutes on one tour. You’re it, for me,” he said, shrugging in an attempt to blunt the gravity of what he had just admitted.

“Ali,” Jimmy breathed, the word like a prayer from his lips. “You’re it for me, too,” he said softly.

They shared a chaste kiss before Jimmy closed his eyes, sighing. “Okay.”

Ali blinked, repeating Jimmy’s word in his mind to make sure he hadn’t heard incorrectly. “Okay?”

Jimmy nodded. “You’re right. We should tell them. God knows it’s been long enough.”

Ali was positively delighted, and some butterflies settled in his stomach at the thought of finally sharing their secret. But if anybody would understand, it was Joe and Jos.

***  
The four of them met at a cosy restaurant near the hotel they were staying at. 

Joe’s hand was in Jos’, as always, and Ali’s heart contracted at the sight. Maybe this would be the beginning of that sort of easy affection for him and Jimmy, once they let their friends in on the secret.

After they ordered, Joe told an animated story about his and Jos’ anniversary date. As Joe spoke, he went off on enthusiastic tangents that made the entire story almost triple the length it needed to be. At the same time, Jos watched him talk with a soft smile, pure adoration in his expression. Jimmy squeezed Ali’s hand under the table. 

Once Joe had wrapped up his rather long story, Jimmy cleared his throat and looked at Ali pointedly. 

Ali hated the scrutiny of three sets of eyes on him, but he reminded himself that these were two of their best friends. Joe and Jos had trusted Ali and Jimmy with the knowledge of their relationship, and now, it was time for Ali and Jimmy to return the favour.

“I… we… Jimmy and I wanted to tell you lads something,” Ali said quietly, cringing at himself for not just spitting it out.

Jimmy sensed Ali’s hesitation, and took over. “We’re together. Have been for years. Sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, that’s my fault. Questions?”

If Ali had expected shock or surprise, he was actually quite underwhelmed by the younger boys’ reactions. 

“Oh,” Joe breathed. “That’s lovely, I’m thrilled.” The words lacked all of Joe’s usual enthusiasm, and Ali frowned slightly at the sound.

“Is… that okay with you guys?” Ali asked, concerned.

Jos realised what was on Ali’s mind, and quickly righted things. “More than okay, I’m thrilled for you boys. But Joey and I have sort of had a hunch for a while,” Jos said warmly.

Joe scoffed. “A hunch? Jossy, we absolutely knew, remember when we were in the room next door and heard-"

Jos cut Joe off by putting a hand over his mouth. Joe must have licked Jos’ hand, judging by Jos’ attempt at a disgusted expression, which came out as such an adoring, endearing nose scrunch that Ali’s heart warmed.

Jimmy, though, was still stuck on Joe’s previous point. “You guys heard…?”

Jos shrugged. “Long time ago. No big deal. But regardless, thank you for telling us. I know it isn’t easy,” he said warmly.

Ali was blushing fiercely. 

“And that means we can officially go on double dates,” Joe declared with a grin.

Jimmy cringed. “That sounds like an effort,” he grumbled.

Ali rolled his eyes. “What do you think we’re doing right now?”

“Oh,” Jimmy realised.

Ali shook his head, but he couldn’t hide his fond smile. He loved this man, and he loved his friends. He was beyond relieved that they didn’t need to hide things from them any more - but really, they had never needed to in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was my first ever non-Aussie fic, so I really hope I did these guys justice! I know how well you guys know them, so I really hope it was up to standard!! I would love to hear any feedback, positive or constructive!! xxx


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